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A Game of Cat and Mouse: Xenografting of Testis Tissue From Domestic Kittens Results in Complete Cat Spermatogenesis in a Mouse Host

From the Center for Animal Transgenesis and Germ Cell Research, Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Present address: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5B4 Canada.

Correspondence to: Dr Ina Dobrinski, Center for Animal Transgenesis and Germ Cell Research, 147 Myrin Building, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, 382 West Street Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348 (e-mail: dobrinsk{at}vet.upenn.edu).

Loss of genetic diversity because of infertility or the premature death of valuable individuals is a significant problem in the conservation of rare and endangered felid species, as well as in the maintenance of lines of cats used to study inherited feline and human disease. Attempts to overcome loss of genetic diversity have focused on freezing sperm; however, sperm cannot be collected from immature males. Previously, we reported completion of spermatogenesis in testis tissue from newborn pigs and goats grafted ectopically into host mice. The objective of this study was to extend the technique of testis tissue xenografting to the domestic cat as a model for felid species. Testes from 1- to 5-week-old domestic shorthaired kittens (n = 9) were cut into small fragments (about 0.5–1 mm³ each), and up to 8 fragments were grafted under the back skin of each castrated immunodeficient host mouse (n = 16). Histologic examination of the testis xenografts was performed between 5 and 54 weeks posttransplantation. At the time of grafting, the seminiferous cords of the donor testis tissue contained only immature Sertoli cells and gonocytes. At 14 weeks after grafting, tubular expansion was evidently caused by the proliferation of Sertoli cells and tubular lumen formation. By 18 weeks after transplantation, the seminiferous epithelium contained spermatocytes, and by 20 weeks, round spermatids were the most advanced types of germ cells. By 36 weeks after transplantation, xenografts of cat testis tissue had completed spermatogenesis. These results demonstrate the potential of xenografting to achieve full spermatogenesis in testis tissue from kittens. Therefore, sperm production in a mouse host can provide an alternative for germ line preservation from immature felids where sperm cryopreservation is not an option.

     Key words: Sperm, testis grafting, felid species, preservation

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